Are You Experienced
: May 12th 1967 : August 23rd 1967 |publishers = : Track : Reprise |charts = : #2 : #5 |length = (11 tracks): 40:08 (11 tracks): 40:37 17 tracks: 60:11 |tracks = Originals: 11 Bonus tracks: 17 |rating = }} Are You Experienced (also known as Are You Experienced?; sometimes shortened to RUX or AYE) is the debut studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on May 12th 1967 in the United Kingdom and August 23rd 1967 in the United States. The album was produced by the band's manager, Chas Chandler, and was recorded between October 23rd 1966 and April 3rd 1967 at De Lane Lea, CBS and Olympic Sound Studios. Two singles were released from RUX worldwide: "Hey Joe" b/w "Stone Free" (UK) and "51st Anniversary" (US), and "Purple Haze" b/w "51st Anniversary" (UK) and "The Wind Cries Mary" (US). "The Wind Cries Mary" b/w "Highway Chile" was released as a UK-only single, and "Foxy Lady" b/w "Hey Joe" was limited only to the United States. "Purple Haze" was the highest-charting single from the album, reaching #3 in the UK, though only #65 in the US. RUX gave Hendrix his first chance to showcase his unique style, comprising feedback-ridden electric guitar riffs and solos, superb blues/rock songwriting, psychedelic sound effects and rhythm and blues-influenced vocal work, which helped to launch the band into the international spotlight, just under a year since forming. The album contained many of what eventually became the band's best-known songs, including "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe" and "Foxy Lady", the former two of which only appeared on the North American track list (the one which Hendrix himself chose) due to record label issues. AYE also contains the band's only 'conventional' (12-bar) blues song; the mighty "Red House". History Recording in the 1970s.]] The first Experience recording sessions began on October 23rd, 1966, less than a month after the band had formed, and the band's first recording was "Hey Joe", of which they completed two takes. On November 2nd, the band recorded all four takes of "Can You See Me", the master for "Stone Free", six unused takes of "Fire" and three unused takes of "51st Anniversary". Also recorded in November was "Love or Confusion", in addition to another three attempts at "Hey Joe" on the 24th. On December 12th, The Experience released their first single: "Hey Joe", backed with "Stone Free". This version of the single was only released in the United Kingdom, and saw release at a later date with a different B-side in the United States. Recording continued the next day, when the band made significant progress on the album with "Foxy Lady", "Red House" and "Third Stone From the Sun". This proved to be the final recording session of 1966. Recording continued at De Lane Lea in 1967 on January 11th with the master takes of "Purple Haze", "The Wind Cries Mary" and "51st Anniversary", as well as an alternate take of "Third Stone From the Sun". The final version of "Fire" was recorded on February 3rd, and "I Don't Live Today" was completed in five takes on February 23rd. The band's second single in the UK was released on March 17th: "Purple Haze" backed with "51st Anniversary". The last recordings at De Lane Lea were on March 29th, which consisted of four alternate takes of "Red House", six takes of "Remember" and three takes of "Manic Depression". The band then moved to a new location, also in London: Olympic Sound Studios. This was the home of the recording of their subsequent album, and the last three tracks for Are You Experienced were also finalised here: "May This Be Love", "Highway Chile" and the title track, "Are You Experienced?", were recorded on April 3rd. Original releases Are You Experienced was first released in the United Kingdom, on May 12th, 1967, becoming the first album to be released on newly-formed record label Track Records. The cover for the UK release featured design and photography by Bruce Fleming, depicting frontman Jimi Hendrix holding a cape over fellow band members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding. The album reached #2 in the UK Albums Chart in May, an amazing performance for a band's debut release. The album was not released in Hendrix's native country until August 23rd, on US-based label Reprise Records. The North American (United States and Canada) version featured new artwork designed by Karl Ferris; a psychedelic design depicting the band in very flamboyant clothing, placed inside of a circle which was surrounded by a bright yellow box with purple typography. The track listing was also changed for this release; "Red House", "Can You See Me" and "Remember" were removed and replaced by single hits "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe" and "The Wind Cries Mary". The album did not chart as high in the US as the UK, though it still reached a respectable #5. Other 1967 releases came in Australia, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and Spain. The Australia/New Zealand release featured the same cover as the UK version, as did the Italy, Japan and Spain releases, though these featured the text "Jimi Hendrix" at the top in a variety of colours; red in Italy, yellow in Japan, green in Spain. The cover for the Chile release was a completely different photo of the band, and the original France LP had a psychedelic design featuring a picture of Hendrix alone in the centre. Are You Experienced was released in four more countries by the end of the 1960s: the Netherlands, China, Taiwan and Yugoslavia (all 1969). The Dutch cover featured new artwork in the form of Hendrix on-stage in the middle of a guitar solo, and the World Records release (China and Taiwan) had the same artwork as the original North American release, though the background was blue instead of yellow, the text was red instead of purple, and the photo was in black and white. The album was also re-released in Australia and North America in 1968. Posthumous releases and reissues In 1970, the album was released in three new countries, namely Brazil, Germany (to which new artwork was given) and Mexico. The album was also reissued in the UK and Australia. AYE was then released in two more new countries in the 1970s: Greece and Norway (both 1973), as well as being re-released in France (1971 and 1973) and Japan (1977 and 1979). The next decade saw the first releases of the album on the new format of compact disc, as well as the first 17-track releases. The first CD releases appeared in Germany and the United Kingdom in 1984, both of which also featured 6 bonus tracks in addition to the original 11. 1984 also saw the album's first release in South Korea. Other CD releases appeared in North America (1987). Additional vinyl releases also appeared, namely in the UK (1987 and 1988) and Germany (1989), the latter of which featured the full 17-song tracklist. The final non-remastered release came in 1991 in Germany, and featured the full 17-strong tracklist. Remasters Are You Experienced was first remastered in 1993 by controversial producer Alan Douglas, and this version saw release only in the two main countries: the United Kingdom and the United States. The 1993 remastered version also featured new artwork, a closeup on the three main memebers. Subsequent to this, and with the Hendrix family receiving rights to all Hendrix material, the album was remastered again and released in the United Kingdom, the United States, Argentina, and all of Europe in 1997, the latter of which released both CD and vinyl versions. Two more releases have appeared, both during the 21st Century; 17-track CDs were released in France and Japan on each country's Universal Records label. Track listings All songs were written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted. Titles in brackets are those that were shown on the original LPs. International (11 tracks) CD releases with this track listing feature all tracks on one disc. Side 1 #"Foxy Lady" – 3:18 #"Manic Depression" – 3:42 #"Red House" – 3:50 #"Can You See Me" – 2:33 #"Love or Confusion" – 3:12 #"I Don't Live Today" – 3:54 Side 2 #"May This Be Love" – 3:10 #"Fire" – 2:43 #"Third Stone From the Sun" ("3rd Stone From the Sun") – 6:44 #"Remember" – 2:48 #"Are You Experienced?" ("Are You Experienced") – 4:14 North American (11 tracks) CD releases with this track listing feature all tracks on one disc. Side 1 #"Purple Haze" – 2:50 #"Manic Depression" – 3:42 #"Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:30 #"Love or Confusion" – 3:12 #"May This Be Love" – 3:10 #"I Don't Live Today" – 3:54 Side 2 release.]] #"The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:20 #"Fire" – 2:43 #"Third Stone From the Sun" – 6:44 #"Foxy Lady" ("Foxey Lady") – 3:18 #"Are You Experienced?" – 4:14 International (original 17 tracks) Double vinyl releases with this track listing featured the first six tracks on side 1, the next five on side 2, the next three on side 3 (side 1 of the second record), and the last three on side 4 (side 2 of the second record). #"Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:30 #"Stone Free" – 3:36 #"Purple Haze" – 2:50 #"51st Anniversary" – 3:15 #"The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:20 #"Highway Chile" – 3:32 #"Foxy Lady" – 3:18 #"Manic Depression" – 3:42 #"Red House" – 3:50 #"Can You See Me" – 2:33 #"Love or Confusion" – 3:12 #"I Don't Live Today" – 3:54 #"May This Be Love" – 3:10 #"Fire" – 2:43 #"Third Stone From the Sun" – 6:44 #"Remember" – 2:48 #"Are You Experienced?" – 4:14 International (corrected 17 tracks) Double vinyl releases with this track listing featured the first six tracks on side 1, the next five on side 2, the next three on side 3 (side 1 of the second record), and the last three on side 4 (side 2 of the second record). #"Foxy Lady" – 3:18 #"Manic Depression" – 3:42 #"Red House" – 3:50 #"Can You See Me" – 2:33 #"Love or Confusion" – 3:12 #"I Don't Live Today" – 3:54 #"May This Be Love" – 3:10 #"Fire" – 2:43 #"Third Stone From the Sun" – 6:44 #"Remember" – 2:48 #"Are You Experienced?" – 4:14 #"Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:30 #"Stone Free" – 3:36 #"Purple Haze" – 2:50 #"51st Anniversary" – 3:15 #"The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:20 #"Highway Chile" – 3:32 North American (17 tracks) The MCA double vinyl release with this track listing featured the first six tracks on side 1, the next five on side 2, the next three on side 3 (side 1 of the second record), and the last three on side 4 (side 2 of the second record). #"Purple Haze" – 2:50 #"Manic Depression" – 3:42 #"Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:30 #"Love or Confusion" – 3:12 #"May This Be Love" – 3:10 #"I Don't Live Today" – 3:54 #"The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:20 #"Fire" – 2:43 #"Third Stone From the Sun" – 6:44 #"Foxey Lady" – 3:18 #"Are You Experienced?" – 4:14 #"Stone Free" – 3:36 #"51st Anniversary" – 3:15 #"Highway Chile" – 3:32 #"Can You See Me" – 2:33 #"Remember" – 2:48 #"Red House" – 3:50 Credits Band members Guest musicians Studio personnel *Producer: Chas Chandler *Engineer (De Lane Lea): Dave Siddle *Engineer (CBS): Mike Ross *Engineer (Olympic Sound): Eddie Kramer *Cover design (international version) by Bruce Fleming *Photography (international version) by Bruce Fleming *Cover design (North American version) by Karl Ferris *Photography (North American version) by Karl Ferris *Liner notes by Dave Marsh Remastered versions *Remastering supervisors: Janie Hendrix and John McDermott *Remastered by Eddie Kramer and George Marino Release details Gallery of artwork Image:Aye1967ausvinyl.jpg|1967 Australia/New Zealand vinyl Image:Aye1967chilevinyl.jpg|1967 Chile vinyl Image:Aye1967francevinyl.jpg|1967 France vinyl Image:Aye1967italyvinyl.jpg|1967 Italy vinyl Image:Aye1967japanvinyl.jpg|1967 Japan vinyl Image:Aye1967spainvinyl.jpg|1967 Spain vinyl Image:Aye1967ukvinyl.jpg|1967 United Kingdom vinyl Image:Aye1968ausvinyl.jpg|1968 Australia vinyl Image:Aye1968usvinyl.jpg|1968 United States/Canada vinyl Image:Aye1969chinavinyl.jpg|1969 China/Taiwan vinyl Image:Aye1969hollandvinyl.jpg|1969 Netherlands vinyl Image:Aye1969rtbvinyl.jpg|1969 Yugoslavia vinyl Image:Aye1970ausvinyl.jpg|1970 Australia vinyl Image:Aye1970brazilvinyl.jpg|1970 Brazil vinyl Image:Aye1970germanyvinyl.jpg|1970 Germany vinyl Image:Aye1970mexicovinyl.jpg|1970 Mexico vinyl Image:Aye1970ukvinyl.jpg|1970 United Kingdom vinyl Image:Aye1973francevinyl.jpg|1973 France vinyl Image:Aye1973greecevinyl.jpg|1973 Greece vinyl Image:Aye1973norwayvinyl.jpg|1973 Norway vinyl Image:Aye1977japanvinyl.jpg|1977 Japan vinyl Image:Aye1979japanvinyl.jpg|1979 Japan vinyl Image:Aye1984germanycd.jpg|1984 Germany CD Image:Aye1984koreavinyl.jpg|1984 South Korea vinyl Image:Aye1984ukcd.jpg|1984 United Kingdom CD Image:Aye1987uscd.jpg|1987 United States/Canada CD Image:Aye1987uscd2.jpg|1987 United States CD Image:Aye1988ukvinyl.jpg|1988 United Kingdom vinyl Image:Aye1989germanyvinyl.jpg|1989 Germany vinyl Image:Aye1991germanycd.jpg|1991 Germany CD Image:Aye1993ukcd.jpg|1993 United Kingdom/United States CD Image:Aye1997argcd.jpg|1997 Argentina CD Image:Aye1997eucd.jpg|1997 Europe CD Image:Aye1997euvinyl.jpg|1997 Europe vinyl Image:Aye1997ukcd.jpg|1997 United Kingdom/United States CD Image:Aye1997usvinyl.jpg|1997 United States vinyl Image:Aye2006japancd.jpg|2006 Japan CD Image:Aye2007francecd.jpg|2007 France CD DSC_6632_resize.JPG|LP front cover (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6633_resize.JPG|LP inner cover (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6634_resize.JPG|LP back cover (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6636_resize.JPG|LP Side One (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6638_resize.JPG|LP Side Two (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6639_resize.JPG|LP inner booklet (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6640_resize.JPG|LP inner booklet (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6641_resize.JPG|LP inner booklet (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6642_resize.JPG|LP inner booklet (2010 USA Stereo re-release) DSC_6643_resize.JPG|LP inner booklet (2010 USA Stereo re-release) Trivia *The Chile version of the album spelt "I Don't Live Today" as "I Don't Live To Day" on the front cover. *The World release spelt the band name as "The Jimi Hendrix Sexperience" on the record. References Links *Are You Experienced - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Navigation Category:Albums Category:Studio albums Category:1967 albums [[Link title]]